The Human Thing

by Kathleen H. Nelson

Captain Jillian D'Lange is a woman with a promising future...until she gets caught in an explosion meant for someone else. Eight months later, she emerges from a coma only to find that the galaxy is a very different place. Her lover is dead, her new ship is three months shy of being confiscated, and she's now a cyborg with memory problems. She's also the focal point of an investigation into corruption within the powerful Spacer's Union. The president of the SU believes that her memories are the key to unlocking the case and tries to bully her into submitting to psychotherapy. When she refuses, he blacklists her, and by doing so, forces her to take a job with a man whose people are ultra-religious technophobes. The job lands her in the middle of a planetary power struggle, and triggers attempted murder, betrayal, and madness. Through it all, she's tortured by thoughts of who she was and what she is now and what she might yet become. This is a story full of intrigue and raw emotions. It is a story about mortals, and mortal failings, and what it takes to be human.

Genres: Science Fiction

275 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 1999

Reviews

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a real pleasant surprise - I thought it looked quite good, but it definitely exceeded expectations. Although we only saw Jilly quite briefly before the accident, I felt that I got a good sense of who she was... and how she changed (and didn't) afterwards. I loved the relationship between her and RK, which is almost entirely unspoken but clearly strong. Plus there are lots of interesting characters populating the rest of the cast.

The plot had plenty going on to keep me interested, too: who caused the shuttle accident, and why, what was causing Jilly's headache and personality swings, and was it related to her memory loss? Then on Tolq, more strands are added, but there's never too much happening at once. And although I thought several times that I could see where the ending was going, it wasn't as predictable as that. I did enjoy the way it all tied together, though. A good, satisfactory ending without absolutely everything being tied up in a perfect bow. I just wish there was more to read - I'd love to see a sequel, or something else in this universe.